Fuel duty frozen in latest budget

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced that fuel duty will be frozen until at least April 2021.

Furthermore, £2.5bn will be made available to fix potholes and resurface roads over the next five years, an extra £27bn will be spent on the development of motorways and other key roads, while £1bn has been made available to fund “green transport solutions”.

Alex Buttle, director at car selling comparison website Motorway.co.uk, said: “While £2.5bn to fix Britain’s potholes sounds impressive, it’s a small amount when faced with the enormity of the problem.

“Many councils are struggling to clear a backlog of potholes that need repairing, and with new potholes popping up every day, it’s an endless task that no amount of money is likely to completely solve forever.

“UK traffic levels are some of the highest in Europe, and unless more money is invested in public transport to reduce the number of vehicles on our roads, throwing money at fixing holes is simply sticking a plaster on the problem rather than finding a long term fix.”

Discussing the freeze on fuel duty, Buttle added: “While freezing fuel duty for another year will be welcomed by cash-strapped consumers, the budget was disappointingly devoid of any concrete measures to turbocharge the switch over from petrol and diesel to electric vehicles.

“The chancellor had the perfect opportunity to show us, with real action, that the government is fully committed to zero emissions motoring by 2035. While he announced £1bn of funding for green transport solutions, there was very little detail as to what this might be. It suggests the government doesn’t actually know.

“Better incentives for car owners to trade in their diesel and petrol cars for electric should be a priority, as the new car industry battles with confusion over Brexit and coronavirus.

“The government needs to provide a clear outline how it’s going to encourage consumers to switch to EVs when the cost of many models is still prohibitively high for many and public charging infrastructure still needs more investment.

“While electric car sales are on an unstoppable upwards trajectory, it feels like not enough is being done to make the 2035 switch over a painless timeframe,” said Buttle.